


Ignoring the obvious

by Hobbesss



Category: Sam & Max
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2020-01-12 10:41:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18444884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hobbesss/pseuds/Hobbesss
Summary: Sam's known Max for as long as he can remember, so when he starts getting weird feelings for the little guy he does everything he can to suppress it.





	1. Just another regular day.

**Author's Note:**

> Decided to take a crack at writing because i am desperate for any type of content involving these two. Might write a follow up to this story in the future.

Chapter 1: Just another regular day.

Sam stared at the phone and impatiently tapped his paw on the ground. It was another sunny day in the city and the freelance police officer had been waiting quite some time for ANYONE to call.

“Sweet flaming chihuahuas!” Sam screamed out. “Just when is anyone going to call today?”  
“Usually the commissioner is good with missions! What could be the hold up?”

Sam sighed and put a paw over his head for a bit, then spread out his fingers so his eye could see a glimpse of max’s seat.

The chair was empty, which explained why it was so quiet and peaceful.  
Max had claimed a near irresistible urge to eat popcorn and walked out to go make some.

“Well...at the very least there won't be any struggle in answering the phone”  
Sam sighed and sat further back into the chair, if he was being honest, he loved the struggle.  
Another hour passed and the phone remained still.

Sam considered himself a much more patient man,(Dog? Animal?) then Max but this was starting get to him.

Tick….Tick…..Tick…..Tick…….

Finally Sam slammed his fist down on his desk.  
“Alright, that enough of that. If the phone just so happens to ring when i leave then so be it.”  
He got up and adjusted his tie.  
“I Should really go look for max. It's really not a good idea leaving him alone for more than a hour..”

Sam walked towards the door and with one last look at the phone. Left.  
Sam stood and looked around the apartment building.

It was a bit weirdly built. At the very top of the place was His and max’s house.  
“I'm still not sure how we can afford the office and that place…” Sam ponder’d.  
Looking down, Sam could see his business neighbors among other things like broken glass.

Sam began making his way to the door. He could hear popping in the background.  
“Oh boy…”  
Sam reluctantly opened the door….  
...and found Max in the kitchen making popcorn.  
Max instantly turned and smiled. “Hey Sam!” Max waved while staring at popcorn in a microwave. “I'm still here! “ Sam smiled at him.

“Ya’know, i hear you aren't supposed to stare at the microwave while its cooking anything lil buddy.” 

“And i hear from those very same people you shouldn't pig out so much on microwaved food.”

Sam went red a lil bit and looked at his belly. He could already hear the self deprecation creeping up on him.

“Keep listening to those people and you’ll end up in a microwave yourself little buddy”

Sam walked over to the microwave and watched it with Max.

“So if YOU came over here im guessing no one called?” Max questioned.

“Nope. No luck so far. Eventually i got worried about what you were doing.”

Max pretended to look shocked.  
“Me? How can you not trust your most respected and loving partner?”

“Easily. Your my only partner though...”  
Sam patted Max’s head lightly  
“And i wouldn't have it any other way.”

Max gave a genuine smile at Sam. It was somewhat rare for Max considering he was...Max. But it did happen from time to time.  
And it made Sam feel…..funny?  
Sam shook his head and shaked the feeling away.

“Sam? Whats up big guy?”

“Er...nothing. I was just wondering what you were doing this entire time.”

“Oh! Oh man i got quite the story to tell ya! You see first-”

Max went off about how it took him nearly three hours to make popcorn.  
Sam had started of listening to him intently but slowly began to tune him out and just focus on max’s own features.  
His long ears, His sharp teeth.  
His cute voi-  
Suddenly a phone began ringing in the household.  
Max immediately ran on all fours to the phone. 

“I got it i got it!”

For once Max actually got to the phone,Sam had been in a bit of a trance and didnt hear the phone for a sec.

“Geez” Sam mummerd to himself. “Getta hold of yourself. What's with you today?”

Max picked up the phone with a glimmer in his eyes. He stared at the phone before taking a deep breath preparing to say something horrible.  
Suddenly a brown paw smacked the poor rabbit across the face.

Max goes flying and Sam can hear a few things knock over and some glass break as Max bounces off stuff.  
Choosing to ignore it, Sam picks up the phone.

“Hello? Yes,.....Yes…..Yeah?.........Yes! Of course!”.

“Sweet Tangled headphones on a rebellious teenage youth Max!” We got ourselves a case finally!

Max walked up to sam, eating popcorn and being slightly covered in glass.

“Oh i knew buying that second phone would be helpful one day!”

“It really makes ya wonder why we dont just wait for calls in the comfort of our own home huh lil  
Buddy?”

“It does! So what's the case?”

“An unspecified tribe on a unspecified island is making plans to take over a unspecified part of the world!”

“Wow! How vaguely unspecified!”

Max pulled out his gun.

“Am i racist for killing unspecified tribes members?”

“Only if their not evil little buddy. Now lets get going.”


	2. “The Unspecified island”

“Well here we are at the unspecified island!” Sam said to no one.

He sighed and looked around. One moment you yawn before getting ready for a case, the next your crime partner is gone without a single trace.

“Thankfully this island is quite small, but that doesnt mean im not worried about what Max is up to by himself.”

“......I should stop talking to myself and get going.”

Sam walked at a slow pace taking in the scenery.  
Clear blue sky. Palm trees. Ocean waves being the only sound you could hear.  
He was surprised that he was getting this much peace and quiet not once but twice in a day.

He stuck his tongue out in disgust. He really needed to find max soon.  
The island was small but still a decent size to explore. Sam walked for what seemed like hours,(but was actually about 20 minutes when he checked his watch) before he came upon a white patch of fur in the sand.

“Well...i guess its better they have him hostage. Wouldn't want him burning down the island somehow..”

He knew the joke was doing nothing to help make him not worry about max but it was nice to pretend. Truth be told he could be a little bit overprotective of max whenever the lil guys life was threatened. 

Even so. This time it felt different. He could feel a rage building up inside him.   
He touched his chest with a confused look. Then closed his eyes to breathe and calm down.  
“I’ll find ya soon little buddy” Sam said as he walked along the beach.

When sam checked his watch again another 20 minutes had passed. At this point he was starting to transition into a jog. Worry had begun to take over and he didnt wanna waste more time.

All this running gave him more then enough time to think then he was comfortable with. Usually he barely thinks about anything since he’s too busy making sure max behaves or he’s solving a case.

Finally Sam found a small hut of houses. A bunch of people we’re gathered outside.  
In the very back Sam could spot a white figure with large ears.

“Bingo!”

Sam began sneaking around the tribe to the very back where Max is.  
As he walked he noticed that...the tribes people didn't seem to be up to anything.  
There were a bunch of chairs set up and a altar in front of them all. A girl was standing there waiting. 

“Wonder who’s the lucky guy…”Sam thought.

Sam approached max at the very back of the tribe. They still hadn't noticed him. Whatever ceremony they were practicing was much to important. 

Max was in a small cage that he could just barely stand in. He was outfitted in weird tribe clothes that resembled a suit. He noticed sam and began to vibrate a little out of excitement.

“Sam! You’re here!”

Sam rolled his eyes a bit before smiling. “Yeah and i would like it if you didn't scamper off like that next time. You really had me worried.”

“You don't understand! In the small amount of time you took to yawn. This tribes person beckoned me to come over! How could i resist! It was free target practice!”

“And now you’re here in a cage as prisoner”. Sam said.

Max’s eyes lit up. “Actually im getting married!”

Sam froze. Had he heard that right?

“I can tell by your shocked expression your confused! Lemme explain..”

“I dont think these tribes people are bad! All their doing is looking for someone to marry their queen!”

Max seemed awfully happy to get married to some random queen on a small island.

“Little buddy...that can't be right. The commissioner said-”

Suddenly a ringing sound could be heard.  
Sam turned to his right and...a phone was right there.  
Sam looked at for a second in utter confusion but then shook his head and picked it up.

 

“Hello…?....Commissioner!...Yes!.....yeah….yes….Really?.......Well...alright.

Max had begun biting the cage and stopped to talk.

“What did the guy have to say?”

“Well little buddy...your little theory was right! The commissioner was wrong and told us to leave.

“Its a good thing they persuaded me with eternal damnation with another women or i woulda shot everyone here!”

“You certainly are right little bud-” Sam froze.

“Little buddy...I don't think i can let you get married.

“Aw what? Why?! Think of how rich we could be Sam!”

“Something tells me if they put you in a cage then the rest of your future is gonna be spent in one. Now c'mon. Those bars are way to wide to actually hold anyone hostage.”

Max looked around sheepishly before walking out. He always liked making things more difficult than it needed to be.

The duo was walking back to their boat. A 40 minute walk was bound to have some kind of stupid conversation Sam didn't wanna talk about and unlucky for him Max felt like talking.

“Hey Sam?”

“Yeah max”

“You ever think about marrying someone?”

Sam started to blush. 

“Ah...well….Little buddy….thats a big question…”

“Would you marry me?”

“No more questions Max”  
“What? I'm curious!”  
Max laughed while punching Sam lightly.  
“Sams scared of getting married!!!” Max teased.  
Sam sighed. It was gonna be a long ride home.


	3. Reluctant realization

The clock struck to 9 as Sam and max sat in their living room.  
Max had been watching reruns of midtown cowboys on tv. As much as he hated his own taped voice max couldn't help but watch anyways.

Max was on the ground entranced by the tv and Sam was on a recliner watching tv with Max.  
Well. He was trying to at least. He couldn't focus at all. He was still feeling funny about Max.  
Sam couldn't figure out why all of the sudden he was feeling weird around Max but he knew what it meant and it scared him.

(“Did that stupid smile really just randomly trigger all this?”) Sam thought to himself.

He continued to stare at Max. 

(“Just what do i like about you little guy?”)

He stopped himself and made a mental note of one thing. He was small. It was easy to carry him and if needed overpower him.

(“I never liked it in...that sense though..right?”). 

His eyes wandered more and more.  
His ears. His cute little snout. His destructive tendencies. The ever so rare soft side.  
Sam thought more and more and his mind only wandered deeper and deeper.

He shaked his head. There was no way. No. Not at all. He bets Max feels the same way.

“Hey little buddy….” Sam lost his voice as he barely croaks out the word buddy.  
Max turns around looking happy that a distraction was about to happen.

“Whats up Sam?”

Max kept perfect eye contact while Sam could barely look at him.

“Er...about our marriage talk earlier…”

Max’s ears perked up. He was actually giving Sam his attention for once.

“Would...well uh….”

Sam tripped over his words over and over. It just wasn't coming out.

“Oh! Is this about me marrying you?” Max asked.

“W-what?! No! You got the wrong idea Max!”

“Oh man this is it! Your asking to get married! Sam you sly dog this is so sudden!”

“Grrr….N-nevermind Max....”

Sam had had enough. He got up from the chair and left max to fantasize about whatever he wanted to fantasize about.  
Sam walked into the room him and Max shared.

He looked at the bed they usually just shared and sighed.

“If i fall asleep early it won't be super weird.”

Sam begun changing out of his clothes. He catches a quick glimpse of himself in the mirror and sighs while looking at his belly.

“When this funny business is over with i should really hit the gym..”

On that comment he hopped into bed.  
Thankfully he never had trouble falling asleep.  
He slowly closed his eyes and went to sleep with ease.

A loud beeping noise comes from the alarm for all of a second before Sam smack the thing down. He had gotten good at that.  
He blinks for a second and scratches his chin. 

Another day. Another potential case to solve.  
The bed seemed comfy though.  
The sun came out of the clouds and shined...right on to Sam’s eyes.  
Being much to lazy at the moment to get up and close the blinds he simply turned around.

And came face to face with Max.

In a instant Sam remembers everything from yesterday.  
He guess he should have know waking up would feel weird now too.  
He slowly turned back around and got out of bed.

Weirdly enough, Max was the heavier sleeper between the two. Waking him up was always a big ordeal.

Sam stared at max for a bit just watching the small bunny breathe a bit.  
He shakes his head and makes way for the bathroom.

 

After closing the door and making sure to lock it, Sam went ahead and looked at the mirror.  
He stared and stared and stared some more while trying to come up with any answer as to what's been going on. 

It wasn't like he didn't like Max. Far from it he LOVED him. But...he never “Loved” him in this way so to speak.

“Ever since we were kids we were inseparable..but it was never like that!” Sam mumbled to himself.

“When i was a kid i….didnt date and girls but i never considered dating a guy either…”.

“I was a pretty huge nerd as a kid thats right! Then sometime around highschool we started the freelance.”

“I...never really had a chance to date huh?”

Sam finally started to convince himself he didn't suddenly like max in that way.  
How silly! Obviously he was just letting out sexual frustration since he’s never tried to date anyone! There was no way he could like someone like Max! 

Suddenly the bathroom door swung open. Max was wide awake and holding a lockpick in his hands.

“Morning Sam! Hey are you staring at your guy worrying about weight again? I told you to stop that you look fine!

Sam shook his head before he allowed himself to take the compliment.

“Anyways.. If you aren't doing anything i’ll just be using the shower. Now scram!” Max screamed.

“You don't have to tell me twice little buddy” Said Sam as he walked out.  
After hearing a soft door click and the sound of water pouring down, Sam let out a sigh.

He wasn't sure if it was of relief or frustration but it was too early to figure it out.  
It was too early to figure any of this out but here he was trying anyways.  
He sat on the bed and looked at a picture of him and max.

It was a photo of them as kids. Looking back he wondered who actually took that photo.

“It wasn't weird then and it won't be weird now.”

Sam put the picture back and began moving to get breakfast while Max took his shower.

“Im sure things’ll get more normal once be do some cases.”

“Soon enough I’ll be feeling fine!”


	4. Feeling anything but fine

Sam opened the door to his house and sat on the recliner, hat over his eyes to hide how frustrated he was.  
Right behind him was Max, he hadn't realized how Sam was feeling right now and Sam thanked every single God he could think of that he didn't notice.

“Phew! That cult of demon worshiping babes almost did a number on us huh?!”

“Yup” Sam barely muttered out.

“And when the Hypnotized Cheerleaders bent on world domination came for me? Oh man i could barely keep em off me!”

Sam slumped into his chair a little.

“Yup”

Max punches Sam in the arm while climbing onto the arm of the recliner.

“Cmon! Laugh! Smile! Do something dammit! You’ve been a grouch all day today!”

Sam’s eyes lit up and he instantly sat up straight.

“Sweet boiled potatoes simmering in a countryside pot! You Noticed?!”

Max crossed his arms and turned his head away seeming offended.

“Of course i did! I'm not stupid!”

Max put his forehead on Sams.

“Now then! Tell doctor Max all your problems..”

Sam flicked Max on the forehead which is all the power that was needed for Max to lose balance and fall off.

“Thanks little buddy but im fine, really! Just having a off day is all.”

“Fine fine if you say so..” Max said while rubbing his forehead.”

“I'M gonna take a shower, Those cooties aren't gonna wash themselves off.”

On that note, Max rushed to the bathroom.  
Sam stared at the empty space where Max was for a bit before turning to the tv.  
With nothing better to do he decided to click through channels. He knew he wouldn't focus on any of them and would just think about today but it was nice to once again pretend it would work.

As he clicked through channel after channel his mind re-played the day over and over.  
It was actually pretty normal for them. The only problem was him.  
Of course the day He finds out about these weird feelings for Max is the day their case involves a heavy amount of girls that all want Max.

Questioning people was tough during that. All he wanted to do was blurt out how Max was his and no one else's.  
Sam made a grossed out face but he knew he forced it a little.  
As usual nothing good was on TV.

“I don't just wanna sit here all day thinking about...today.”

Sam put his finger on his chin and began to think.  
He took a quick glance at the window. The moon was full and it seemed relatively peaceful.

“A walk might be just what i need right now..”

Sam looked down the hall and could still hear Max in the shower.  
Normally he doesn't like leaving him alone but he also normally doesn't feel like wanting to hug his partner all the time so this time he’ll let it slide.

He quickly grabs a sticky note and tapes it to the fridge.  
“Went for a walk to clear my head! I’ll be back soon little buddy. Please don't burn the place while i'm gone.”  
Sam looked at the note for a bit and then removed the part about asking not to burn the place down. He was pretty much encouraging him to burn the place down by asking him not to.  
With the note done Sam adjusted his hat a bit, tightened his tie and went off to the streets.

The city Sam and max lived in was honestly by no means safe.  
There’s a reason Sam and Max got so many cases, and it was because New York seemed to just be some kinda magnet for weird villains. Thankfully Sam and max have built a reputation over the years that makes it so no one really messes with them.

Sam slowly put one paw in front of the other not really sure where he was going.  
A part of him wanted to go back home. Be with Max. Like always. Usually he would just stay home.  
But another part kind of liked it. Being alone. Getting away from all the troubles and confusing feelings. He felt calm, at peace even. All this funny business would blow over soon enough….

“Sam?” What are you doing out so late?”

And like that all the peace went away.

It had to have been only 5 minutes but he had suddenly ran into Sybil, the town...well she changed careers so frequently that Sam and Max had made a game out of guessing what she was doing before she told them.

She had black hair tied into a bun and was wearing a jumpsuit with some kind of device on her back. She also held something that looked like a Metal detector. Sam could already hear Max firing off guesses as to what she's doing now in his head.

“Sybil? Its almost 11:00 pm! Why are you out so late!”

She smiled and walked towards the tall dog. 

“I’ve found the perfect career choice this time! Ghost hunting!”

Sam wanted to ask just how she can afford to change careers all the time but decided he wanted to be alone as quick as possible.

“Oh! We’ll...good luck with that. See ya.” Sam said as he turned the opposite direction and began walking.

“Ah- wait hey!” Sybil ran in front of Sam. “You didn't even answer my question!” 

“Why are you out so late? It's not like you to be out without Max.”

Sam looked away and didn't answer for a few seconds letting a uncomfortable silence settle in.

“It's...not something you can help with.” Sam answered..

“So there’s a problem?”

Dammit.   
He hadn’t meant to let her know that. It was late, he was tired.   
He sighed and looked at Sybil face to face. He had no choice, he had to tell her a little bit about his problem unless he wanted her worried about him for a while.   
That didn't mean he had to let her know it was about Max though…

“Alright Sybil you win. I’ll tell you what's wrong. I don't think i have to tell you not to tell anyone?”

“Oh Sam of course not! My first job was a therapist remember!”

“Yeah and i remember you telling us about other patients for our case…” Sam recalled.

“That...was just for the case! Now what's wrong?”

The two of them had begun walking to nowhere while Sam found his words.

“So….There’s this guy.”

Sybil had already taken a notebook out and was writing stuff down.

“Who isn't max and...makes me feel funny.”

Sybil looked up from her notes.

“Funny how?”

Sam began to blush a bit and mumbled out some words.

“Huh? I didn't catch that Sam.”

“He..makes me feel like i wanna hug him and be with him all day!” Sam blurted out,

“I see….and your sad he doesn't reincorporate those feelings back to you!”

“Wha- no! That's not it at all!”

“Its…..not?”  
“The problem is that i don't..erm..swing that way in the first place!”

Sam had gotten noticeably more flustered. It felt weird letting anyone know about this.

“Well…have you ever dated a girl? Maybe during your teen years?”

“...No...but that was because i was a huge loser back then!”

“And with all these cases i have i never had time to try and date someone!”

Sam knew Sybil wasn't buying it but he wasn't about to let her get a advantage in the conversation.

“In fact: i know what i’ll do! I’ll schedule the next few days off and go on a date with someone! That’ll sort this whole mess out!”

“Sam i don't think-”

 

Sam immediately cut her off:

“THEN I CAN PROVE ONCE AND FOR ALL I DON'T LIKE MAX THAT WAY!” Sam screamed.

Sybil jumped away slightly frightened by the dog. It was unlike Sam to ever Scream and lose his temper like this unless Max was in danger.  
Sam himself seemed shocked too. After a few seconds of silence he looked at sybil sheepishly.

“...Thank you Sybil. I uh...i gotta go..catch the new Mid-Town cowboys with Max.”

Sam turned and ran towards home as fast as he could leaving sybil alone.  
Sybil watched Sam run all the way down the street before turning around.

“Sheesh...i remember why i stopped doing therapy. I'm no good at this!”


	5. A date

Sam rushed up the stairs the the apartment. He was being incredibly loud but he was pretty sure no one lived in this place except for Him and Max. Everyone else used the rooms for office space.

He could hear the tv playing shows from outside the door. He sighed while looking for his key to the house.

“It's no wonder our electric bill is so high…”

Sam opened the door and was immediately tackled by a white ball of fur.

“Max-Mrgh!?”

Max had jumped right onto Sam’s face as soon as he walked into the house.  
It wasn't enough force to completely topple Sam but he did stagger a bit.  
After a few seconds Sam was able to pry off Max from his face.

His face was incredibly red. “What the hell’s the big idea Max?!” He asked.

Max looked visibly shaken up and one look made Sam instantly relax a bit. Suddenly he felt bad.

“Where did you go?! One moment i was in the shower and the next you're just gone! I was this close to going on a killing spree looking for you.”

Max Clutched Sams stomach and Sam put a hand on his back,

“Im sorry little buddy! I was just out for a walk! I left a note on the fridge!”

Max’s face lit up as if everything made sense now.

“So you’re telling me that chicken scratch was YOUR handwriting?

“Chicken scra-...Grrrr Max my handwriting is way better than yours!

“Stay here so i can prove how wrong you are”

Max scampered off and got a note. 

When he gave it to Sam, Sam’s eyes squinted a lot.

“Huh….I um...must have been in a rush”

“I’ll say! Dont pull something like that again alright?”

“Will do little buddy. I might regret this but...anyway i can make it up to you?”

Sam knew how dangerous a question that was considering how most of Max’s wants involved lighting something on fire, but he felt pretty bad for scaring him so much.  
Max put his hand on his chin and thought for a bit.

“Hmmm as a matter of fact Sam…..”

Here it comes.

“I wanna cuddle in bed tonight!”

Sam blinked a bit and stared at the small rabbit.

“Uh...Max...did i hear that right?”

“Yes sir you did! You never let me use you as a pillow! Tonight's gonna be different.”

Sam never let max cuddle or use him as a pillow for a number of reasons besides all the weird feeling junk that was going on with him right now.  
Max did it once out of the blue and Sam just went along with it not sure what to do. He was super sweaty though and could barely move without waking Max up. It really wasn't a good time.

Max claimed it was the best sleep he had ever gotten and asked to do it again later that night. Sam instantly shut the idea down.

He couldn't just say no though. Awkward feelings be damned. Saying no now would break the little guys heart.

And no matter how Sam felt about Max, if he ever made Max sad on purpose he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.  
Sam gave a heavy sigh to try and let Max (and himself) know that he didn't like this.

“Alright Max. Fine. One night. That's it.”

Sam’s face burst into a devious smile.

“Great! I think you’ll learn to like it this time Sam!”  
Sam had a feeling he wouldn't.

 

After quickly changing into pajamas Sam nearly fell into bed tired from everything that went on today. He didn't bother bringing up the blanket over him. Being a tall fat dog had the perk of being warm all the time at least.

Just as he was about to fall asleep he feels a small paw tugging at him.  
He turns around and is instantly hit with a small figure pressing up to his belly.

“Oh. RIght.” Sam thought.

Sam stiffend, not prepared in any sense for physical contact with Max like this.

“At least give me a warning little buddy…”

Max was too busy nuzzling Sams belly to answer.  
While Max mumbled out stuff like “comfy” and “warm” Sam awkwardly looked anywhere but at the little guy.  
He could feel a part of him that wanted to look down but he ignored it as best he could.  
As he turned on his back he could feel Max’s nuzzling slow down. He was starting to fall asleep.

“Mrgh…...zzz……”

If Sam moved a muscle then Max would probably wake up and complain. It looked like he was staying like this.  
He sighed and looked at the clock.

1:AM.

He was tired as all hell but simply having Max on him made his heart race.  
He could feel his soft breath on him, his hands twitch ever so slightly. He could even see him...drooling? Gross.

He hated it. At least he thought he did.  
In the past it wasn't weird sleeping in the same bed at all. They we’re tight on money and had know each other for so long that it wasn't weird or anything. They both knew they didn't wanna do anything.

And now all of that was out the window.  
Sam sighed and closed his eyes.

 

“I’ll have to get over this for both our sakes. I don't even know what Max likes…”  
Sam knew a lot of things about Max but he never could pin down his sexuality. It wasn't something that he thought he would need to know.

Sometimes he’ll flirt with women, other times he’ll compliment guys. Sometimes he’ll just shut down on everyone except Sam himself.  
Sam was the only person Max treated “decently” so to speak on a daily basis.  
He took pride in that.

After about half a hour of more worrying and a little self deprecation, Sam finally fell asleep.

…………..

The alarm beeped loudly for all but a second before Sam was awake and slammed the thing off.  
Unlike before he immediately remembered the predicament he was in.  
Partially because Max was snuggled up to the dogs neck.

Sam raised his chin up so that it didnt rest on Max’s head, then he gently shook him.  
“Little buddy…? Hey...wake up. I'm gonna have to move sooner or later.”  
With no hesitation, Max’s head jerked back and stared at Max.

He gave out a long yawn and wiped his eyes.  
“Now THAT's what i call a goodnight’s sleep. Good morning! Sam!”  
Sam couldn't help but smile seeing his partner look so happy.

“Good morning little buddy.”

Morning routine went as normal that morning. The duo made a mad dash over who got to use the shower first. Then it was a matter of Max trying to get Sam to change into clothes without loathing his weight in the mirror 

Breakfast was hastily made cereal which they ate while watching whatever was on the news.  
Sam looked down at max who preferred sitting on the ground. He wasn't gonna like the idea of taking a day off AND not spending the day off together..

“Hey Max…”

Max finally let himself breathe and stopped eating.

“Whats up Sam?”

Sam stayed silent and stared at him for a bit and started to sweat.  
Max rolled his eyes. “Oh boy. Not this again”  
Max got up and leaned on the armchair while staring at Sam.

“Cmon ya big lug out with it!”.

“Max….I was thinking…..”

“Uh. Yeah?”

“We take the day off….”

Max suddenly started jumping up and down getting giddy.

“Oh man really!? You never take the day off! Whats the spec-”

“And i go on a date with someone.”

Max stared at him for a bit. Sam braced for the worst, Max and being silent are just two things that didnt work at all together.

“No way….You have a date?!” Max squealed.

“Actually yeah i do!” Sam lied. He had a plan but at the moment he had no date at all..

“I promise we can cuddle again tonight little buddy. I know you don't like be seperated. Neither do i.”

Max’s smile faltered.

“Then...Why are you going on the date at all?”

“Shoot.” Sam thought. “Bad choice of words.”

“It's been over 30 years and you’ve never shown interest in dating girls (or anything for that matter) at all! Why the sudden change?”

Max had a real good point, under normal circumstances Sam wouldn't lie but…  
One look at him and all those feelings came back again. He supreses them deeper before he speaks.

“Its just...i never had the time! You know how it is little buddy. Always crime fighting and then coming home. I just thought i would try it out.”

For a split second it looks like max frowned and was hurt but he instantly covers it with a smile.  
“Alright ya softy. Just don't go scaring people off talking about how much you hate yourself alright?”

Before Sam could answer Max started heading for the door.

“I’ll….find something else to do. Maybe go hang with Sybil or something..See ya”

And just like that Max was gone.

A horrible silence filled the air. All Sam could think about was how guilty he felt making Max act anything like that.  
He shook his head. Now was not the time for that. He needed to figure out how to actually find a date.

It was still pretty early in the morning so Sam knew he had a decent amount of time.

“Alright...let's find a date!”


	6. One Date later..

Sam’s head hung low as he walked down the street. Out of all the ideas he’s ever thought of, this one might have been the worse.  
He wonders where he went wrong, was it the fact that the girl was 15 years younger than him? Maybe it was the fact they decided to go to a chocolate dessert themes restaurant, a place Sam literally could not eat at without dying.

It could have been the fact that Sam may have lied a little just so the date actually happened.  
Looking back on it all made Sam realize how desperate he was to ignore these feelings for Max that suddenly came up.

He couldn't even focus at all during the date. He was just concerned with what Max was doing the whole time.

He noticed a nearby bench and decided to sit down.

It was a particularly chilly night, the moon shined down directly on the bench Sam was sitting on.  
It was a nice moment. Quiet. Peaceful.

He wanted Max to be here and ruin it like he usually would.  
He wanted to talk with Max about the various ways they would beat up whatever villain they were after.

He wanted to share the recliner with him and watch a bunch of shitty movies Max had been begging him to watch together.  
He wanted to…

Sam chuckled at his own thoughts and began to sweat.

“I dunno how i'm gonna tell you all this little buddy. I can't even figure out how it started..”  
“But for what it's worth….i think i…”

Sam covered his face with his paws and went red. He was never more thankful he was alone.

“I guess now that i’ve accepted it i can barely think about it without getting embarrassed..”

Sam looked up to the moon and smiled tail wagging a little bit.  
Soon enough though his smile turned to a frown and his tail froze.  
Thoughts of how terribly things could go wrong began to rise up.

Normally...the only things he would worry about (until recently) was Max if he was alone or his weight.  
But now that he had...accepted in a sense his feelings about Max.  
He could only think about how wrong it could go if he talked to him about it.

Yeah they cuddled, but it was just a weird friend thing that they did.  
Max was all Sam had and Sam was all Max had so they never thought it was weird.

Speaking of cuddling, Sam was actually gonna do that tonight!  
It felt a little dishonest since he hasn't told Max how he feels yet, but no ones getting hurt so…  
Sam began jogging towards home..

For the first time in a few days he was actually looking forwards to something.  
Soon enough the days of case solving would be back to normal and if he was lucky Max might even understand.

Sam raced up the stairs to his door.

“I wonder if i should tell him right away? No..there's no way i can.

“I gotta find out how he feels SOMEHOW though..”

Sam opened the door after nervously trying to put the key in for a sec.

“Hey little buddy! Im back! Date was horrible..”

Sam hadn't expected to even finish his sentence so he was already confused.

“Erm..Max? Little buddy? Don't tell me you fell asleep already!”

Sam was met with silence again. Now he was concerned.  
He rushed into their room but no one was there. He wasn't in the bathroom either.  
There just wasn't a single trace of the rabbit.

Sam could feel himself beginning to panic. Nethertheless he took a deep breath and did what he did best.

“There has to be a clue around somewhere…”

It didn't take Sam long before he came across the only clue left.

A mysterious note.

“Sweet Friends being captured and used as bait for others! Its a note!”

“Looking for your friend no doubt eh Sam? If you want him back then you’ll be a good dog and come to your old high school at 3:00am. See you then!”

 

There was no signature and the handwriting was someone’s Sam had never seen.  
He looked at the clock. 10:00 pm. A little bit of time to kill before he started moving.  
Sam crushed the paper in a feeble attempt to control his anger a bit.

It was one thing leaving Max alone but for someone to willingly capture him and use him as bait made him angry beyond comprehension.   
He recalls the only time he got even angrier which was when a villain had stolen his friends brain.

He had been so angry he turned himself into a noir persona, interrogating people roughly while spouting monologues that made no sense when you thought about it for a second.  
He sat in his chair and stared at the clock.  
It was gonna be a long few hours..

Sam checked his watch as he made his way into the school.  
3:00, he was on the dot.

He hated following villains orders but with Max’s life potentially on the line he had no real choice.  
Looking around, Sam was immediately hit with a wave of nostalgia and dread seeing the school.  
Sam and Max were by no means model students. Everyone just about hated them and they got into fights more times they could count.

Thinking about it all made him want to get to Max quickly. Ignoring his recent feelings,  
A world without Max was horrible to even think about.  
Not like the two of them would ever admit that to each other. Sam couldn't recall anytime they sat and talked about their feelings…

“And yet here i am going to ask Max to do that after all this” Sam mumbled.

“Take that you mangly Witch!” A sudden voice cried out.

Sams ears perked up. That was Max no doubt about it. 

“It sounded like he was in the gym. Ugh i hated that place.”

Most of the kids made fun of Sam's weight in gym. As Sam put it he was “big boned”. As Max   
put it, he could “stand to lose a few pounds”.  
“I need to hurry up and save Max before i remember more suppressed memories..” Sam said as he dashed towards the Gym.

When Sam opened the door he was introduced to quite the sight.  
Max was in the middle of beating the snot out of some poor girl who he could only assume was the kidnapper. He stopped throwing punches for just a sec to look up and see Sam.

“Sam! You made it! Finally!” Max squealed.

Sam was overjoyed to see him safe and ran towards max giving him a hug.

“Woah woah woah were you that worried? Im fine ya big baby c'mon lemme go”

It takes all of Sam's willpower to let go but he does. Max goes back to beating up the girl while Sam looks around the place.  
It seemed like there was a whole trap set up to Kidnap Sam while he tried to save Max.

“Little buddy..what happened here?”

Max didn't even look up while he answered. “ Oh you won't believe it, so as soon as i leave i-”  
Sam had already begun spacing out. Just looking at Max filled him with dread thinking about how he was gonna talk to Max about all of this. He could already imagine how wrong it could go.

“Hey little buddy! Turns out i have a huge crush on you! Wanna go back home and sleep together?”

Then Max would immediately run out the door in fear and disgust..

“Hey Sam? Earth to Sam! SAM!”

“Huh?Oh sorry uh yeah i got all that” Sam lied.

Max had finished beating the villain to pulp. He was staring at sam and looked a little mad he wasn't listening.   
He gave Sam a questioning look which was fair. Sam had been acting weird by their standards this whole week. Then he did something Sam never thought Max would do in his life.

“Sam...are you really okay?”

Sam did everything he could to not audible gasp but he still couldn't hide the slightly shocked expression he had. He was surprised Max still had his eye on him.

“I….Im fine buddy! What would make you ever ask at all!?”  
“You know i hate beating around the bush Sam! Are you telling the truth or not?”

Sam took a deep breath and looked right as Max.

“Im fine Max. Really”

Max, satisfied with the answer, turned around and began walking towards the exit of the gym.

“Cmon then! I'm tired as hell and need my perfect pillow. I can tell you all about how i stopped this lady tomorrow  
Sam stared walking behind Max while worrying more about how he would talk to Max about all this.

It was gonna be a long night.


	7. All’s well that ends..well

The clock hit 5:30 as Sam stared at Max, wide awake in bed. Max didnt even bother waiting for Sam to change into pajamas, he just dragged him onto the bed, no covers or anything.

Max was so small that he could basically just cuddle with Sam's arm. Once again Sam could see a bit of drool coming out of his mouth. Just because he now accepted his feeling about Max didn't make it any less gross.

Tick...Tick….Tick….Tick……  
He had been trying to muster up the courage to wake Max up and talk but kept finding excuses as to not do that.

“He might get angry at you for waking him up, He dosent wanna talk about this anymore, What would you even say” Ect. Ect…

Just as he was about to think of another excuse as to not wake him up, Max began to sleep talk.  
“Mrgh...Sam…..” Max mumbled as he clung to Sam’s arm.

Sam blushed a bit and found the slightest bit of courage he needed to actually talk to Max.  
With a small gentle boop on the nose, Sam attempted to wake Max up.

“Psst...Max...Little buddy, Wake up.”

….Nothing. Max stayed still gently breathing.

Sam booped his nose a little harder.

Max’s face moved a little bit but just as quickly went back to a calm gentle state. Nothing like how Max usually is.

Getting slightly inpatient Sam flicked max’s nose.

That woke him up. Max’s eyes shot open as he covered his snout with his hand.  
“Argh what the-?! Sam? What's the big idea?! Its…”  
He looked at the clock.  
“5:30? Jesus man do you wanna fight or something?”

Sam stayed silent and just awkwardly stared at Max. Max slowly calmed down when he could see the almost pitiful look Sam was giving.  
“....Ugh i knew something was up with you ya big lug”  
He got up and placed himself so that he sat across Sam. Max’s eyes drooped slightly, he wanted to help his friend as much as he wanted to get this over with and go back to bed.  
“Im gonna ask one more time Sam. What’s been with you lately?” 

Sam stared at Max again. He knew if he didnt say something right now it would be god knows how long before they talked about something like this again. He could already see Max fidgeting. He had to say SOMETHING.

“Max...i think i like you.”

“..........Huh? What do ya mean?”

And just like that Sam just started talking about everything. Like a switch had been set off.  
He talked about everything. How much he tried to suppress it, how worried he was about talking to Max about it. He was so desperate to talk to someone that he trusted about it.

And the only person he really trusted was Max.

Max sat and stayed quiet the entire time. His face didn't change in the slightest and he didnt crack a single joke during Sam’s entire confession. When Sam was all said and done he seemed like he was on the brink of tears out of fear. He never cried and yet here he was.

Max continued to be silent which only made Sam’s mood worse. He couldn't read how Max felt about all of this. After about a minute of silence he finally spoke.

“Geez! It's about time you figured it out! You know how long i’ve been waiting?”  
Sam blinked a few times and made a confused look. “Huh?”

Max smiled. “Why do ya think i’ve never put the Max charm on anyone of my choosing for so long?”

Sam scratched the back of his head embarrassed to answer. “I...always thought you just didn't care about that stuff Buddy. You know how we are. Talking like this in itself is pretty rare.  
“I could barely come to terms with me liking you. How do you think i thought you would feel?”

Max chuckled,” Geez you dont know me all do ya Sam?” He wanted to just keep joking to let Sam know that everything was fine but…  
Sam just stayed the same looking depressed as all hell despite things going ok so far.

Max cleared his throat a bit and got a bit closer to Sam. Being so small he could just sit on his lap like a child.

 

“Listen ya baby. We’ve only had eachother for as long as i can remember and its gonna stay that way. Your the only dog i want to go commit senseless violence with alright? C'mon look at me at least!”

Reluctantly Sam looked over at Max. Now his face was red as well as sad.

Max scratched his head trying to figure out how to make Sam the slightest bit hopeful.  
Suddenly a huge grin spread across his face that worried Sam.

“I know! Why don't we just do it! Right no-”

Sam smacked Max across the room while furiously shaking his head. It took Max a bit before he was back next to Sam again.

“Alright maybe that...can be a long term goal. What i we just cuddle like normal then?”

“Its not normal Max. You’re the only one that wanted to do that in the past.

“Yeah exactly! In the past! But now you want to cuddle to dontcha! Admit it. Its really comfy huh?”

“Maybe...just a litt- Agh!”

Max jumped onto Sam before he could finish his sentence. He snuggled up under his chin and closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around the big dog as much as he could.

“I like you to Sam. Stop worrying about it and sleep already.”

And just like that, taking his own adivce, Max was asleep again.

Sam looked down at the rabbit he’s known for so long once more. This time when he looked down though anxiety did not spread throughout his body.

Instead a small hope came about instead.

“Maybe i really should stop worrying” Sam mused.

“Goodnight little buddy” 

Sam closed his eyes and fell asleep with ease for the first time in a while.


End file.
